A number of studies have indicated that short food supply chains could create economic, social, and environmental benefits, but most of those chains were implemented in developed countries. This ...research aims to find out the characteristics of short food supply chains and their benefits to small farmers in Vietnam, which is a developing country, based on the survey results from 338 small farmers in the third quarter of 2020, with the support of Stata 14 software. The results showed that the short food supply chains in the survey sample in Vietnam were characterized by two main actors: small farmers and distributors. Farmers could sell products flexibly at the local market. There was some initial evidence to prove that these chains helped to stabilize the input, output price, and revenue; formulated sustainable income; and increased the satisfaction and confidence of farmers. They eliminated gender discrimination in rural areas and improved livelihood for ethnic minorities. These chains also enhanced the mindset on green, organic, and clean production of farmers, which in turn created environmental benefits. COVID-19 has posed a negative impact on the income of farmers and made them change their production and sales method. Therefore, the research could suggest some policies to sustainably develop the short food supply chains in Vietnam in the future.
This study assessed the relationship between methamphetamine use and condomless anal intercourse (CAI) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Of 622 MSM ...participants, 75.7% reported any CAI in the last three months, 23.2% reported engaging in sex work in the last three months, 21.1% reported group sex in the last twelve months (21.1%) and 14.3% had used methamphetamine for sex in the last three months. CAI was associated with living in Ho Chi Minh City vs. Hanoi, being versatile during anal sex, a greater degree of sexual sensation-seeking, and more strongly agreeing that withdrawal before ejaculation is effective in preventing HIV. Effect-modification analysis showed that recent sex-related methamphetamine use was related to a higher probability of CAI for men with low sexual sensationseeking scores. Methamphetamine assessment and/or interventions should be incorporated into HIV prevention and research with Vietnam's MSM population.
Although medicinal herbs contain many biologically active ingredients that can act as antibiotic agents, most of them are difficult to dissolve in lipids and absorb through biofilms in the ...gastrointestinal tract. Besides, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used as a potential antibacterial agent, however, to achieve a bactericidal effect, high concentrations are required. In this work, AgNPs were combined into plant-based antibiotic nanoemulsions using biocompatible alginate/carboxyl methylcellulose scaffolds. The silver nanoparticles were prepared by a green method with an aqueous extract of Allium sativum or Phyllanthus urinaria extract. The botanical antibiotic components in the alcoholic extract of these plants were encapsulated with emulsifier poloxamer 407 to reduce the particle size, and make the active ingredients both water-soluble and lipid-soluble. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis showed that the prepared nanosystems were spherical with a size of about 20 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the interaction of the extracts and the alginate/carboxyl methylcellulose carrier. In vitro drug release kinetics of allicin and phyllanthin from the nanosystems exhibited a retarded release under different biological pH conditions. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized nanoformulations were tested against Escherichia coli. The results showed that the nanosystem based on Allium sativum possesses a significantly higher antimicrobial activity against the tested organisms. Therefore, the combination of AgNPs with active compounds from Allium sativum extract is a good candidate for in vivo infection treatment application.
In the water treatment field, activated carbons (ACs) have wide applications in adsorptions. However, the applications are limited by difficulties encountered in separation and regeneration ...processes. Here, activated carbon/Fe3O4 nanoparticle composites, which combine the adsorption features of powdered activated carbon (PAC) with the magnetic and excellent catalytic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, were fabricated by a modified impregnation method using HNO3 as the carbon modifying agent. The obtained composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption isotherms and vibrating sample magnetometer. Their performance for methyl orange (MO) removal by adsorption was evaluated. The regeneration of the composite and PAC-HNO3 (powdered activated carbon modified by HNO3) adsorbed MO by hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The composites had a high specific surface area and porosity and a superparamagnetic property that shows they can be manipulated by an external magnetic field. Adsorption experiments showed that the MO sorption process on the composites followed pseudo-second order kinetic model and the adsorption isotherm date could be simulated with both the Freundlich and Langmuir models. The regeneration indicated that the presence of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles is important for a achieving high regeneration efficiency by hydrogen peroxide.
The use of non-invasive approaches for monitoring therapy processes in cancer patients at late stages is truly needed. In this work, we aim to develop an electrochemical interface based on ...polydopamine combined with gold nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide for impedimetric detection of lung cancer cells. Gold nanoparticles (around 75 nm) were dispersed onto reduced graphene oxide material pre-electrodeposited onto disposable fluorine doped tin oxide electrodes. The coordination between gold and carbonaceous material has somehow improved the mechanical stability of this electrochemical interface. Polydopamine was later introduced onto modified electrodes
via
self-polymerization of dopamine in an alkaline solution. The result has demonstrated the good adhesion and biocompatibility of polydopamine towards A-549 lung cancer cells. The presence of the two conductive materials (gold nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide) has led to a six-times decrease in charge transfer resistance of polydopamine film. Finally, the as-prepared electrochemical interface was employed for impedimetric detection of A-549 cells. The detection limit was estimated to be only 2 cells per mL. These findings have proved the possibilities to use advanced electrochemical interfaces for point-of-care applications.
Non-invasive approaches for monitoring therapy processes in cancer patients at late stages is truly needed.
Essential oils were extracted from the culm and leaf of Cymbopogon citratus collected from different regions of Vietnam and analyzed using GC/MS. The results showed that citral is the major component ...accounting for 61.20%–76.46% of the essential oils. The citral content was higher in the essential oil obtained from the leaf than in that from the culm of lemongrass in all regions. In particular, camphene, valerianol, and epi-α-muurolol can be used to differentiate essential oils originating from leaves versus culms. The cytotoxic effects of the essential oils on various lung cancer cell lines were evaluated in the present study. All essential oils exhibited cytotoxicity in the tested cells. The Ha Loc leaf essential oil (HLL) exhibited the most potent effects on A549 and H1975 cells, with IC50 values of 1.73 ± 0.37 and 4.01 ± 0.30 μg/mL, respectively. The Hy Cuong leaf essential oil (HCL) showed the strongest effect on H1299 cells, with an IC50 value of 2.45 ± 0.21 μg/mL. The Kim Duc culm (KDC) essential oil exerted the strongest cytotoxic effects against H1650 cells, with an IC50 value of 4.86 ± 0.29 μg/mL. The HLL induced apoptosis and cycle arrest in A549 cells according to flow cytometric analysis and fluorescent nuclear staining assays. The western blot analysis indicated that HLL induced the apoptotic effect by altering the regulating proteins of the apoptosis process such as caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Bax. The data strongly suggested that the intrinsic pathway may play an important role in the apoptotic effects of HLL.
Academic blogs are international, extramural, outside of institutional structure, obligation, and audit. Their algorithms allow quantitative investigation, but qualitative research on blog practice ...is rare. This paper offers qualitative insight into academic blog pedagogy using DoctoralWriting as a case study. Here, DoctoralWriting comments-to-posts become data (391 comments giving 129 pages of text), analysed both thematically and using NVivo12 to show the blog's interactive practice. We became interested in how commenters and academic bloggers create a community of practice. The findings led us to add Third Space theory to community of practice. Emerging from the super-complexity of postcolonial theory, Third Space exists outside of, or between, cultures. That means it can detach from biases, hierarchies and role restrictions. We show blogging's potential within doctoral education, demonstrate a novel method for understanding academic blogging, and advance the pedagogical use of Third Space theory.
Bibliometric analysis of 3105 publications retrieved from the Scopus database was conducted to evaluate bibliographic content of scientific output on social sciences in Vietnam, for the 2000–2019 ...period. Our main findings show that the number of publications on social sciences from Vietnam has increased significantly over the last two decades, and there was a spike in the scientific output for the recent three years when the number of publications accounted for 53.76% of the collection. The most productive authors came from a few public research institutes with strong resources as the top 10 institutions participated in 44.22% of the collection. Vietnamese scholars tend not to submit their works to high-ranking journals since five Q1 journals in the top 10 publishing journals published only 6.17% of the collection. For international collaboration, Australia and the United States ranked first and second based on the number of publications and citations. Other countries in top 10 mostly located in Europe and Asia. Research topics were diverse focusing on gender, poverty, HIV, higher education and sustainable development. We suggest that supporting policies and funding need to be provided to help Vietnamese scholars improve their works, and to boost their scientific production in the future.
The long stagnation of the photo-conversion efficiency of kesterites below 13% is a source of frustration in the scientific community. In this study, we investigated the effects of sodium on the ...passivation of grain boundaries and defects in Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) grown on a soda-lime glass (SLG) and borosilicate (BS) glass. Because BS glass does not inherently contain sodium, we placed a thin layer of NaF between CZTSe and Mo. The composition of the samples is Cu-poor and Zn-rich. The distribution of sodium and its contributions to phase formation and defects were examined by cross-sectional energy-dispersive X-ray profiling, Raman scattering spectroscopy and imaging, surface potential and photoluminescence. From the experimental results, it can be strongly claimed that sodium ions segregate predominantly near the grain boundaries and reduce CuZn-related defects. These local surface imaging analyses provided the exact locations of the secondary phases. In particular, the photo-assisted scanning probe method enabled us to observe the changes in the optoelectrical properties of the thin films and the carrier behavior within the materials. Further studies with distinct alkali ions and optimal processing conditions will pave a way to improve the performance of kesterite solar cells.
In the present study, a series of 6-substituted aminoindazole derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for bio-activities. The compounds were initially designed as indoleamine ...2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibitors based on the structural feature of five IDO1 inhibitors, which are currently on clinical trials, and the important anticancer activity of the indazole scaffold. One of them, compound
N
-(4-fluorobenzyl)-1,3-dimethyl-1
H
-indazol-6-amine (
36
), exhibited a potent anti-proliferative activity with an IC
50
value of 0.4 ± 0.3 μM in human colorectal cancer cells (HCT116). This compound also remarkably suppressed the IDO1 protein expression. In the cell-cycle studies, the suppressive activity of compound
36
in HCT116 cells was related to the G2/M cell cycle arrest. Altogether, the current findings demonstrate that compound
36
would be promising for further development as a potential anticancer agent.
In the present study, a series of 6-substituted aminoindazole derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for bio-activities.
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